What's sexting? As texting began to upraise in our society, people started to use it for many different reasons. Teens began to not just text, but also sext! Sexting is just like texting, but instead of sending basic messages, teens are sending messages with sexual content in it. For example if someone is sending nude pictures, or texting someone with hopes of having sexual relations with that person later, it’s sexting. Urban dictionary defines sexting as "The act of text messaging someone in the hopes of having a sexual encounter with them later; initially casual, transitioning into highly suggestive and even sexually explicit." Sexting appears in someone’s everyday life. You can sext at anytime, anywhere, and others wouldn’t have a clue if you were doing it. Additionally, while sexting your at risk of getting everything you say out to the public, including risqué photos. When sending risqué photos of yourself to your boyfriend or girlfriend, your trusting them not to show anyone else. However what happens if you break up? Are you still going to trust and hope those photos don’t get out? But what if you were never going out with the person and you were just trying to gain their attention, would you still trust them? Many teens are faced with this problem each day. If or when their photos get out the embarrassment and humiliation might even make them angry enough to kill.
Hope Witsell
Hope Witsell: Thirteen year old, Hope Witsell attended middle school in Florida when her life ended. Trying to gain the attention of a boy in her class, Hope decided to send him a topless photo of herself. The boy, who was not interested in Hope, took this photo and showed all the other classmates, and everyone else in the school. Hope couldn’t take the embarrassment and bullying this photo caused her much longer, so one night she hung herself in her bedroom and died.
Jesse Logan
Jesse Logan: Another story like this came up with eighteen year old Jesse Logan. Jessica "Jesse" Logan was a senior in high school at Sycamore High in Ohio. During a relationship Jesse had she sent nude photos of herself to her boyfriend. However, once her and her boyfriend broke up, he sent the photo to everyone in their high school. Things began to go downhill for Jesse. Her classmates called her various names such "slut" and "whore." After a few weeks of this harassment she started off by not going to school. When she would go to school, she would skip her classes and hide in the bathroom. The torment and harassment Jesse received from her peers caused her to do the unthinkable. One night after Cynthia Logan, Jesse's mother, came back from work she found her daughter hanging in her bedroom; Jesse had committed suicide. Cynthia told NBC news "I walked over into her room and saw her hanging. The cell phone was in the middle of the floor." This story of Jesse Logan shows the importance of not sexting. Her and Hope Witsell are just two of many teens who took their life because of bullying due to sexting.
Interview with Ayanna Kilpatrick: To understand more about sexting and bullying within Brookline High, I talked to Ayanna Kilpatrick. Ayanna is a social worker at BHS, so I was sure many students come and talk to her regarding this topic. I asked Ayanna, "Has students ever come to talk to you about sexual pictures of themselves, or sexual texts they sent get out?" Ayanna replied "There were a couple of cases like this but not many. Sexting isn't really a big deal here." She informed me that people come to her more about bullying, especially cyberbullying. She said, "One of the major ways people cyberbully each other is over Facebook. Last year one of the most outrageous cyberbullying events occured." Someone on facebook created a "slores galores" page, which had various photos of girls on it who were considered "hoes." In order to get on this slores galores page, you would have to be nominated by other people. Additionally one of the girls on the page attended BHS. Rumors spread that another girl who attended BHS nominated her to be on this page. Eventually, many adults got involved and the Facebook page was taken down. Due to this incident, and a few others, BHS is currently in the making of putting a policy in the Brookline High Handbook about cyberbullying and harrasment.
Recent survey: There was a recent survey done by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and Cox Communications in Washington. They asked a numerous amount of teens questions about sexting, and the results were shocking! Of teens who sext, 80% are under the age of eighteen! About one in five teens said they have participated in some form of sexting. That can include either sending or receiving risqué photos or messages through text message or email. However, to make matters worse, 11% of the teens who took this survey admitted to sending risqué photos of themselves to complete strangers! If sexting is becoming a major problem now and it’s causing a numerous amount of teenagers deaths, you would assume there would be some laws against sexting, right? Well your wrong! Currently in Massachusetts, and many other states in the U.S there are no laws against sexting. In Massachusetts the only laws we have that are related to sexting is the child pornography laws which are listed below:
MGLA 272 §28 - Matter harmful to minors, dissemination; possession
MGLA 272 §29A - Posing or exhibiting a child in a states of nudity or sexual conduct
MGLA 272 §29B - Dissemination of visual material of child in state nudity or sexual conduct
MGLA 272 §29C - Knowing purchase or possession of visual material of child depicted in sexual conduct
Violating any one of these laws could lead up to 2.5-20 years in prison, or fines up to 1,000-50,000 dollars.
Final thoughts: When are teens going to realize the dangers of sexting? How far must a teen go for them to realize sexting is a bad thing? Before you send photos of yourself to someone, think about the story of Hope Witsell and Jesse Logon. Think to yourself, Is this picture really worth it? Encourage your peers, siblings, and others to not partake in any form of sexting. In addition to stop sexting, if you receive a picture of someone else, delete. Remember, Hope and Jesse committed suicide because of the torment and harassment their peers caused them. Don't be one f the kids who caused someone else's death. Many teens have lost their lives due to sexting, but its up to you to stop it.
What's sexting? As texting began to upraise in our society, people started to use it for many different reasons. Teens began to not just text, but also sext! Sexting is just like texting, but instead of sending basic messages, teens are sending messages with sexual content in it. For example if someone is sending nude pictures, or texting someone with hopes of having sexual relations with that person later, it’s sexting. Urban dictionary defines sexting as "The act of text messaging someone in the hopes of having a sexual encounter with them later; initially casual, transitioning into highly suggestive and even sexually explicit." Sexting appears in someone’s everyday life. You can sext at anytime, anywhere, and others wouldn’t have a clue if you were doing it. Additionally, while sexting your at risk of getting everything you say out to the public, including risqué photos. When sending risqué photos of yourself to your boyfriend or girlfriend, your trusting them not to show anyone else. However what happens if you break up? Are you still going to trust and hope those photos don’t get out? But what if you were never going out with the person and you were just trying to gain their attention, would you still trust them? Many teens are faced with this problem each day. If or when their photos get out the embarrassment and humiliation might even make them angry enough to kill.
Hope Witsell: Thirteen year old, Hope Witsell attended middle school in Florida when her life ended. Trying to gain the attention of a boy in her class, Hope decided to send him a topless photo of herself. The boy, who was not interested in Hope, took this photo and showed all the other classmates, and everyone else in the school. Hope couldn’t take the embarrassment and bullying this photo caused her much longer, so one night she hung herself in her bedroom and died.
Jesse Logan: Another story like this came up with eighteen year old Jesse Logan. Jessica "Jesse" Logan was a senior in high school at Sycamore High in Ohio. During a relationship Jesse had she sent nude photos of herself to her boyfriend. However, once her and her boyfriend broke up, he sent the photo to everyone in their high school. Things began to go downhill for Jesse. Her classmates called her various names such "slut" and "whore." After a few weeks of this harassment she started off by not going to school. When she would go to school, she would skip her classes and hide in the bathroom. The torment and harassment Jesse received from her peers caused her to do the unthinkable. One night after Cynthia Logan, Jesse's mother, came back from work she found her daughter hanging in her bedroom; Jesse had committed suicide. Cynthia told NBC news "I walked over into her room and saw her hanging. The cell phone was in the middle of the floor." This story of Jesse Logan shows the importance of not sexting. Her and Hope Witsell are just two of many teens who took their life because of bullying due to sexting.
Interview with Ayanna Kilpatrick: To understand more about sexting and bullying within Brookline High, I talked to Ayanna Kilpatrick. Ayanna is a social worker at BHS, so I was sure many students come and talk to her regarding this topic. I asked Ayanna, "Has students ever come to talk to you about sexual pictures of themselves, or sexual texts they sent get out?" Ayanna replied "There were a couple of cases like this but not many. Sexting isn't really a big deal here." She informed me that people come to her more about bullying, especially cyberbullying. She said, "One of the major ways people cyberbully each other is over Facebook. Last year one of the most outrageous cyberbullying events occured." Someone on facebook created a "slores galores" page, which had various photos of girls on it who were considered "hoes." In order to get on this slores galores page, you would have to be nominated by other people. Additionally one of the girls on the page attended BHS. Rumors spread that another girl who attended BHS nominated her to be on this page. Eventually, many adults got involved and the Facebook page was taken down. Due to this incident, and a few others, BHS is currently in the making of putting a policy in the Brookline High Handbook about cyberbullying and harrasment.
Recent survey: There was a recent survey done by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and Cox Communications in Washington. They asked a numerous amount of teens questions about sexting, and the results were shocking! Of teens who sext, 80% are under the age of eighteen! About one in five teens said they have participated in some form of sexting. That can include either sending or receiving risqué photos or messages through text message or email. However, to make matters worse, 11% of the teens who took this survey admitted to sending risqué photos of themselves to complete strangers! If sexting is becoming a major problem now and it’s causing a numerous amount of teenagers deaths, you would assume there would be some laws against sexting, right? Well your wrong! Currently in Massachusetts, and many other states in the U.S there are no laws against sexting. In Massachusetts the only laws we have that are related to sexting is the child pornography laws which are listed below:
Violating any one of these laws could lead up to 2.5-20 years in prison, or fines up to 1,000-50,000 dollars.
Final thoughts: When are teens going to realize the dangers of sexting? How far must a teen go for them to realize sexting is a bad thing? Before you send photos of yourself to someone, think about the story of Hope Witsell and Jesse Logon. Think to yourself, Is this picture really worth it? Encourage your peers, siblings, and others to not partake in any form of sexting. In addition to stop sexting, if you receive a picture of someone else, delete. Remember, Hope and Jesse committed suicide because of the torment and harassment their peers caused them. Don't be one f the kids who caused someone else's death. Many teens have lost their lives due to sexting, but its up to you to stop it.
Links:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/29546030/ns/today-parenting/
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/34236377/ns/today-today_people/
http://knowledgebase.findlaw.com/kb/2009/Apr/1194234_1.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-19518_3-10272311-238.html